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NBA fans are being treated to a very entertaining playoffs, and we’re getting an exceptionally rare matchup between the two frontrunners for the regular-season MVP award. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder are battling the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic in the Western Conference Semifinals. While Denver’s big man signed a long-term extension a few years ago, Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t yet inked a massive pay day.
That could all change this summer. NBA writer Marc Stein noted Gilgeous-Alexander’s contract situation puts him in unprecedented territory. He’s eligible to sign a supermax extension this offseason that would be worth nearly $300 million. It would also include a salary north of $80 million—something no NBA player has yet achieved.
Gilgeous-Alexander could sign that four-year deal this summer, or he could wait until the following offseason in 2026. If he choose to wait, the supermax deal would be for five years and well over $300 million, and it would almost certainly still include at least one $80 million season, if not a couple.
Sam Hodde/Getty Images
Thunder fans can rest easy knowing that Gilgeous-Alexander wants to remain with the team. He recently told reporters: “I love Oklahoma City and I can’t see a world where I’m not in Oklahoma City.”
The guard was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers in 2018. He played one season in LA before the team traded him to the Thunder as part of the Paul George deal. Gilgeous-Alexander has already done something George never did during his time in OKC—he’s won a playoff series (two, in fact, between this year and 2024). SGA has a chance to get the Thunder to the Western Conference semifinals, something the team hasn’t done since Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were on the roster.
Coincidentally, Westbrook is now on the Nuggets. He’s still beloved by Thunder fans, though they’re rooting against him this series, of course.
And just to show how much NBA salaries have ballooned over the past handful of years, Westbrook’s career earnings are around $349 million. That’s about what SGA could get from a five-year supermax in 2026. It’s a grand time to be an NBA superstar.
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